DIY Cake Stand

A few weeks ago I joined 75 local bloggers for a preview event at the Draper IKEA.  My family and I enjoyed a complimentary breakfast while I perused the new 2013 catalog.  (We got to see it before it was made available to the public.)  Then my husband and I dropped the kids off at Smaland and skipped merrily off holding hands and dreaming of our hour alone.

The mission:  find $25 worth of IKEA products (which we would receive for free) and come up with a little DIY project.  (I love a good contest!)

IKEA is my go-to place for props for food photography.  One thing that I’m lacking in the prop department is cake stands.  As I walked around and saw a few on display, the idea popped into my head to make one of my own.

Who has space to store a bunch of cake platters and stands?  I wish I did, but unfortunately I don’t.  So I like the idea of making one to use when I need it, but being able to take it apart when I’m finished.

I’ve had my eye on a new line of plates from IKEA that I am totally in love with.  I love scalloped plates.  Can you tell by looking at my new header? :)  They come in three sizes, and I chose the biggest one because the center of the plate measures about 9″ in diameter–perfect for a cake or tart.

While we were shopping around, I found a great dark brown candle holder to work as the base of my platter.  I love the dark base with the white plate.  I’m totally going back to buy more.  I foresee a whole bunch of platters in varying heights for a holiday buffet table.  Wouldn’t that look great?

DIY IKEA Cake Stand

What you need:

1 large plate
1 candle holder
Command Picture Hanging Strips (for a more permanent hold, use glue dots)

Instructions:

1.  Make sure the plate is clean (no dirt or grease) on the bottom so the strips will adhere to the surface

 

3.  Place the candle holder on the bottom of the plate and center it, tracing a circle as a guide.  (You could do this before step 2, but it doesn’t matter.)

4.  Peel off the backing and turn the candle holder over and press it onto the plate using the guide so it’s exactly centered.  (You could also measure this.  Make sure it’s centered correctly, or the platter will tip over.)

5.  Use as desired and when you’re done, remove the strips as directed on the package.  (Sorry, there’s no picture for this, but I promise the strips came off perfectly without a trace of sticky residue.)

Time for project:  10 minutes.
Cost:  $7.99 for the candle holder, $3.99 for the plate, about $5.00 for a pack of 12 small strips

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Now about that tart in the picture at the top of this post.  I also snagged a few bars of IKEA Bittersweet Chocolate and with one of the bars I made a Black-Bottomed Coconut Cream Pie.

IKEA chocolate is inexpensive (three 3.5 oz. bars for $2.49) and it tastes great.  I love to use the bittersweet bars in place of chocolate chips in cookies and for making chocolate shavings.  It was really great in the ganache layer of my tart.  Oh, man is that a tasty tart!

A big thank you to the staff of IKEA Draper and Tauni Everett founder of SNAP Conference for a great event.  My family had a great time.  You can read more about the event and see what the other bloggers came up with on the SNAP blog.